


Be brave (Get ready to fight)

by RavenRambles



Category: Carmilla (Web Series), Pocket Monsters | Pokemon (Anime)
Genre: Anxiety Attacks, Emotional/Psychological Abuse, F/F, F/M, Gen, Hollstein - Freeform, LaFerry - Freeform, Physical Abuse, Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder - PTSD, Zeta Society - Freeform, and I apologise for that, this isn't going to be a happy story sometimes
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-01-20
Updated: 2015-11-13
Packaged: 2018-03-08 08:19:37
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 3
Words: 5,486
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3202193
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/RavenRambles/pseuds/RavenRambles
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>"When Carmilla's little brother goes missing she finds herself thrown into an adventure unlike any other." </p><p>She then gathered a flashlight and a coat as she left the house with the sound of the door clicking shut, and went in search of her little brother. Initially, she wasn’t that worried since Will had many different hiding spots around Route 16. However, when she’d exhausted the list of his play areas and had even hiked into Celadon to check the Game Corner, she knew something was amiss. By that time, however, it was truly night time and she needed to get back to check on the Vulpix.</p><p>“Please don’t let it have burned the house down” She whispered as she rushed back towards Route 16. When she got back the house was, thankfully, still intact and the Vulpix was happily bouncing around on her bed. She sighed in relief and sat down, letting herself watch the Pokemon play for a moment before intense worry for her brother set in. She gnawed on her lip anxiously, with only a lone thought looping through her mind as she felt her stomach churn with fear.</p><p>Mother was going to kill her.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. The Vulpix

**Author's Note:**

  * For [anamatics](https://archiveofourown.org/users/anamatics/gifts), [Perrstein](https://archiveofourown.org/gifts?recipient=Perrstein).



> Big thanks to Jordan for running with my AU and being my Beta.
> 
> Disclaimer: I do not own Carmilla nor do I own Pokemon, I'm just mashing them together for my own enjoyment. 
> 
> I hope you enjoy!

It was a relatively warm evening in Kanto when Carmilla was strolling back to her home on Route 16 with a basket of berries strapped securely into her backpack. Carmilla had been in the middle of making some of her patented herbal remedies when she’d realised that her supply of Oran berries were running low, so after making sure her little brother was safely parked in front of the television she made the walk through forest and tall grass to the Berry Orchard she was permitted to tend to. She was in a particularly good mood since her mother was out of town, and her Liechi berry trees had finally borne fruit. She whistled as she walked, confident that the local wild Pokemon wouldn’t bother her during her trek, since they were mostly familiar with her and her healing capabilities. Carmilla wanted to start up her own business selling herbal remedies for Pokemon, despite her mother’s wishes for her to become the region’s Champion. Her little brother was definitely more suited to fulfill that dream; he’d already caught a Poochyena at 10 years old and was mother’s little golden boy. She couldn’t help the grimace that twisted her face.

_“What I’m saying is that you should be striving to follow in your Grandfather Giovanni’s footsteps, Carmilla. Like Will does. Enough of this setting up a healing business nonsense, it’s time to become a trainer. Even William has made his first catch” Her mother told her exasperatedly as she polished a Pokeball until it shone in the light coming from the fire and held it up to the Chinchou on her shoulder to make sure that she hadn’t missed a spot. Carmilla sat in front of the fire to take advantage of it’s light whilst mashing up a blend of Oran, Sitrus and Lum berries into a smooth paste._

_“Yes, Mother,” She nervously curled into herself, for what was not the first nor the last time, in distress over that particular topic. Her mother’s Mightyena was growling softly in the corner, and she gently called to him._

_“Come here, Mightyena, there’s a good boy” He bristles at her voice and his growls grew in volume, causing Carmilla to feel tendrils of fear and shiver, but with a snap of her mother’s long fingers, Mightyena soon slunk over to Carmilla and begrudginly rested his head in her lap. She stroked his large head softly, wincing at the Pokemon’s warning growls, before cleaning the rather large gash on his snout. She clamped her left hand around his jaw so that he can’t bite at her fingers and used her right hand to spread the blue paste into his wound. He whined, but stayed still as she dressed the wound even as his whining grew in volume until they were pained yelps due to the burning sensation from the paste._

Carmilla was startled out of her memory and abruptly stopped moving at the sound of distressed cries. She ran through the tall grass towards the cacophony of wails and cawing noises to find a Spearow bullying a borderline emaciated Vulpix whose paw was encased in a poacher’s Teddiursa trap. Carmilla found herself filled with rage over her find, her thoughts bouncing all over the place to process what she had found

“What are poachers doing in this part of the world?” was the thought that was burning itself into her mind. Poaching had been made illegal in Kanto back when Team Rocket had been disbanded because of “some punk ass kid” as Grandfather Giovanni liked to put it after his evening drink. Carmilla ignored the twinges of fear in her heart as she shooed the Spearow away, throwing some food pellets down for it to munch on as she crouched down near the Vulpix with her hands outstretched.

“Hey cutie” She crooked the side of her mouth up into a small smile to distract it as she assessed the damage that the Teddiursa Trap had done to the tiny things paw, forcing herself not to flinch back as the young Pokemon breathed a weak flame onto the metal biting into it’s foot.

“Calm down, I’m gonna get you outta here” She chastised it, actually flinching as it blew tiny flames at her, slightly singing the tips of her fingers. She clenched her jaw and looked for a way to prise the jaws of the horrific trap apart, soon seeing that if she put her weight on the springs it should open up. She swallowed nervously before she placing her backpack down and braced herself with a foot on each spring and pressed down with her whole body weight. With a wince inducing grating sound, the trap opened and she was able to carefully lean down and pick up the small, injured Pokemon. She moved a nearby rock to trigger the deadly contraption into snapping shut again, pulling her jacket off and wrapping the bleeding Pokemon up before throwing her backpack on and jogging the distance back to her home. When Carmilla got to the manor, she bustled quickly through the already open door. 

“Damn it, Will, close the damn door behind you when you go out to play with your Poochyena. Little termite.” Carmilla grumbled when she realised that her brother had left the house unlocked again. A small yelp from the Vulpix in her arms soon distracted her from her brother’s misgivings, however, and she quickly began tending to the it. She placed the young Pokemon onto the Kitchen table and grabbed a bottle of Sitrus berry powder, pouring out two measurements into a bowl and adding enough water to turn it into a thick paste before cleaning the Vulpix’s wound and heavily coating it in the paste. After she bandaged it’s paw and coaxed it to eat the rest of the paste she brushed her fingers through the fur behind it’s tiny ears and watched it munch away at the berry concoction. The property of the Sitrus would probably begin working soon, so Carmilla leant forward and rested her chin on her crossed arms to keep watch on the Pokemon. 

_Just in case,_ she reasoned with herself. 

She wondered, for a while, what a Vulpix was doing on route 16 anyway but as it jumped and scorched the table top after the shrilling cry of a Swellow startled it, she assumed it had been abandoned by a trainer. Taking in it’s single white tail she assumed that it was low level, maybe even freshly hatched from her guess, but she’d have to stop off at the Celadon city Pokemon Center tomorrow to be sure. She grimaced; she hated Pokemon Centers. At some point during her musings she must have nodded off, because when she woke up it was almost dark outside and her neck creaked from the awkward position of resting on her arms while sitting at the table. The young Pokemon was up and about, merely limping on it’s bandaged foot and pawing at her fingers which she wiggled playfully.

“Hey, buttercup, look at you. Looking better already, I see” She smiled and the Pokemon yapped happily at the nickname.

“Buttercup, you like that hmm? Well, Buttercup, lets set you up a bed and then I have to go look for my useless brother” She grinned, scratching behind the little Pokemon’s ear affectionately before placing it on the pillow in her bedroom. 

“Stay” She told it, smiling softly when it did as she asked. She then gathered a flashlight and a coat as she left the house with the sound of the door clicking shut, and went in search of her little brother. Initially, she wasn’t that worried since Will had many different hiding spots around Route 16. However, when she’d exhausted the list of his play areas and had even hiked into Celadon to check the Game Corner, she knew something was amiss. By that time, however, it was truly night time and she needed to get back to check on the Vulpix.

“Please don’t let it have burned the house down” She whispered as she rushed back towards Route 16. When she got back the house was, thankfully, still intact and the Vulpix was happily bouncing around on her bed. She sighed in relief and sat down, letting herself watch the Pokemon play for a moment before intense worry for her brother set in. She gnawed on her lip anxiously, with only a lone thought looping through her mind as she felt her stomach churn with fear. 

_Mother was going to kill her._


	2. Celadon City

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> "Carmilla hikes to Celadon City in search of her little brother but will she find answers or just more questions?"
> 
> Startled awake by a stinging sensation on her cheek, Carmilla trembled. With clenched eyes, she hoped to delay her punishment for as long as possible as a single thought echoed in her sleep addled mind: Was Mother back already? She waited for the pinch of sharp fingernails on her skin or the sound of Mightyena using Howl, but it never came which confused and unsettled her. Instead, she felt a soft pat on her cheek followed by a wet coldness. She wondered if Mother might be luring her into a false sense of security; why else was she not being reprimanded for losing William?

Startled awake by a stinging sensation on her cheek, Carmilla trembled. With clenched eyes, she hoped to delay her punishment for as long as possible as a single thought echoed in her sleep addled mind: Was Mother back already? She waited for the pinch of sharp fingernails on her skin or the sound of Mightyena using Howl, but it never came which confused and unsettled her. Instead, she felt a soft pat on her cheek followed by a wet coldness. She wondered if Mother might be luring her into a false sense of security; why else was she not being reprimanded for losing William?

“Mother?” She called out tentatively, opening her eyes a crack to see if anybody was in the room before jumping back. All she could see was red. She cowered in the corner of her bed for a moment and scrabbled to find a solid memory that she could cling to before evening out her breathing and allowing herself to relax. The Vulpix swiped playfully at her finger and she managed to stop a flinch when he chewed on it for a minute with his tiny fangs.

“Please don’t” She mumbled softly as she removed her finger from his jaws, grimacing a little as she swung her legs out of bed and stood up to stretch as far as her body would let her. Buttercup yapped happily and jumped off the bed with ease, following her as she made her way into the kitchen and put her thoughts in order. 

“First off, food” She grinned as she picked up the fire pokemon and placed him on the kitchen table before going to rummage in her supply cupboard. After placing an Oran berry and a bowl of generic food pellets onto the tabletop, Carmilla turned away from her small charge and looked for something that she could eat, blatantly ignoring the passive aggressive note about frozen meals that was tacked to the fridge. Making herself a bowl of her favourite cereal, Armald-o’s, she sat at the kitchen table and watched Buttercup fondly as he played with the Oran berry. She was delaying and she knew it. With a sigh she began to crunch on her breakfast whilst making a mental list of the things she might need to pack for a journey of some sort; because Arceus knows, that’d be just her luck wouldn’t it?

“Why’d he have to go missing?” She mumbled as a trickle of fear ran down her spine and raised the hairs on her neck. Carmilla bit her lip as an image of Tyranitar’s shadow swam before her eyes and hastened her movements as she bustled around the mansion with Buttercup at her heels, collecting things that she might need. Once she’d packed she then went to her room and fumbled with furniture until she could get at a loose floorboard where she’d been hoarding as many Pokedollars as she could. Sighing sadly she packed every dollar and merely hoped that she wouldn’t have to spend too much of it. After double checking that she had everything she might need, Carmilla pulled the backpack onto her shoulders and pulled a hat on to shield her face from the sunlight; it was a long enough trek to Celadon City since she didn’t have the funds for a bike.

“Come on Buttercup!” She called as she traipsed through the mansion, turning off lights and locking doors behind her lest she incur Mother’s wrath on her return. It wouldn’t do to waste electricity or to leave the house pregnable to thieves and the like. Her new friend trotted at her heels, working hard to keep up with her long strides on his young, short legs and when Carmilla went to close and lock the front door behind her she found a panting Vulpix at her feet. Smiling softly she perched the young Pokemon on her shoulder and ordered him to hold on before turning her back on her childhood home and starting the hike towards Celadon city.

After a long trek, her first port of call was the PokeCenter; to make sure that Buttercup’s leg had healed properly and to ask if anybody had seen her brother. She stood outside the automatic doors and bit at her bottom lip before hesitantly stepping inside. After taking a shaky breath, Carmilla rapidly made her way through the crowds of Pokemon and trainers to the front desk, narrowly avoiding a Rhydon which almost backed into her whilst she was stood in line. 

“Hello! Welcome to the Pokémon Center, where we will heal your Pokémon back to full health. My name is Nurse Joy. Would you like me to take your Pokémon?" A woman with shockingly pink hair asked her and Carmilla nodded as she took Buttercup from her shoulder and placed him gently on the countertop.

“I, uh, gave him a healing salve of my own creation but I figured I’d bring him here just to be sure. His leg got caught in a poacher’s teddiursa trap.” Carmilla rushed to clarify, happily noting the look of anger on Nurse Joy’s face at the mention of the trap.

"Okay, I'll take your Pokémon for a few seconds." She said and took Buttercup away, leaving Carmilla to tap her foot nervously and work up the nerve to talk to some of the people around her about her brother. She was soon distracted though by the return of Nurse Joy.

“Your Pokémon are now healed.” The Nurse smiled at her as she handed the small Vulpix back to Carmilla. 

“He’s in the peak of health and very strong for such a low level Pokemon. Will that be all today?” Carmilla bit her lip and decided to jump at the opportunity; this woman ran the PokeCenter after all and Will had his Poochyena with him so there was a chance that he’d visited.

“Actually, I was wondering if you’d seen my little brother around? He never came home last night.... Here’s his picture…” Carmilla handed her a small photo with well thumbed corners picturing William and herself posing with Mother. Carmilla’s teeth worried at her bottom lip as Nurse Joy frowned and shook her head before handing the photograph back.

“I recognise him but he hasn’t been around for at least a few days with his... Poochyena wasn’t it? Sorry, maybe go and ask Officer Jenny?” The Nurse offered with an apologetic smile. Carmilla nodded her thanks and left as quickly as she could with Vulpix in her arms. She wandered around town with the picture for a while, yet when her labours bore no fruit she made her way to the Police Station and hoped beyond hope that they’d seen her brother; he’d HAD to have come through Celadon because he didn’t own a bike or a Pokemon that knew fly, so why had nobody seen him?

“Excuse me, Officer Jenny, have you seen my brother?” Carmilla asked of the green haired woman as she simultaneously handed the photograph over and shied away from the woman’s Arcanine that was sat at her heels. She was more than a little wary but Vulpix seemed curious about the fellow fire Pokemon so she placed him on the floor and then tugged at her sleeve as Officer Jenny studied the photograph.

“I’ve seen him around before but not recently, sorry kid. We’ve been a little busy dealing with the aftermath of some idiots running around in Team Rocket outfits. They used to have a base below the Celadon Game Corner, you know?” Jenny said as she handed back the picture. She looked as if she might say something else but all of a sudden her radio blared into life and before Carmilla could ask any more questions, the Police woman was running out of the door.

“Damn it, Buttercup, now what should we do? If I don’t find the little Weedle Mother will… well she won’t be happy...” Carmilla winced and rubbed at her arm, looking at the small fire breather instead of where she was going. Suddenly, however, she was jerked out of her thoughts as she fell to the ground.

“Oof, watch it!” A girl’s voice rang out as Carmilla groaned in pain; the tumble had somehow managed to hit all of her bruises. Vulpix was standing protectively on her chest, a low rumble vibrating through his body as the woman she’d ran into started forward to help Carmilla up again.

“Buttercup, hush” She whispered, stroking his russet fur and waiting until he was perched comfortably on her shoulder before slowly getting to her feet.

“Watch it yourself” Carmilla replied with a biting tone to her voice; she didn’t want to deal with any more strangers today. She threw a sneer over her shoulder at the woman she’d bumped into as she headed off in a random direction but soon stopped in her tracks.

“Hey, you forgot your picture!” The impossibly tall blonde woman grinned. Carmilla fought to suppress an eye roll by the cheery disposition and the amount of pink this person was wearing but she was soon distracted by the woman’s soft gasp of recognition.

“Oh, I know this boy!” Carmilla’s eyes widened; finally, some information.

“Yeah?” Carmilla’s heart was a Tauros herd in her chest as the woman narrowed her eyes, furrowed her brow and looked off into the distance, clearly trying to figure out where she’d seen William. Carmilla’s stomach was tying itself in knots; she didn’t want to rush this woman but she really needed this stranger to remember where she’d seen her annoying, stupid sibling.

“That’s right! I saw him yesterday with a group of people that were wearing black T-Shirts with a red R on them? That's why I was coming to see Officer Jenny, actually. One of them broke into my Mother’s PokeMart and stole a whole heap of Pokeballs. I’m Betty, by the way.” The blonde rambled, holding her hand out for Carmilla to shake. Carmilla did so and gulped a little; what did Team Rocket want with her brother? Hadn’t they been disbanded in Grandfather Giovanni’s time?

“Whilst your life story is fascinating and I’d just love to stay and chat, I have to find my brother. Do you know which direction they were headed?” Carmilla assumed that they had probably gone towards Saffron city but she figured asking if this Betty person had heard or seen anything else couldn’t hurt. Any information would be helpful; the quicker she found her brother the less likely it was that Mother would find out she’d lost him.

“They may have said something about a bill? I’m not sure, Sorry.” Betty frowned slightly, wishing she could help this girl more. That was enough for Carmilla, though, who nodded to the blonde and then set off in the direction of Saffron City. 

“We’ll find him, Buttercup” She said aloud, reassuring herself more than the Vulpix. He licked at her cheek and she found herself glad to have him with her which was a surprise. She then set her jaw and, drawing strength from his presence, left the boundaries of the world that she knew as she stepped out onto Route 8 and the beginning of her journey. 

“We’ve got to.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm so sorry that this chapter took so long to update. My beta has been super busy and also super sick recently so I've now decided to post this chapter un-beta'd. I'm hoping to get the ball rolling on this story again so I hope you enjoyed this chapter and the next one should be soonish.


	3. The Illustrious Elsie

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Carmilla is following a lead on Team Rocket to Saffron city, however whilst she's traversing the long grasses of Route Eight she meets "The Illustrious" Elsie.
> 
> “Well, you’ve obviously realised that you’re no match for the greatest trainer on Route Eight! Good choice.” The illustrious Elsie boasted with a smirk as she stepped aside to let Carmilla pass. Carmilla’s head snapped up and she fixed Elsie with a judgemental stare, her eyebrow raised.
> 
> “You’re the ONLY trainer on Route Eight”

Long grass. Carmilla hated long grass. To be clear, it wasn’t the vegetation itself that she hated but rather it was the Pokemon that lurked within the long grass that had troubled her ever since her grandfather Giovanni’s lab exploded when she was younger. Of course, Mother had never treated her the same way since that day, either.

 _“Tyranitar, darling...”_ Carmilla shuddered and shoved her Mother’s voice from her mind, focusing on the task at hand. She should have stopped by the PokeMart before she’d left but she’d been so intent on finding her brother she’d completely forgotten that there’d probably be long grass on the way to Saffron. She made a quick mental note to buy some Max Repels as soon as possible as she scratched the bridge of Buttercup’s nose with her finger and dodged another patch of ridiculously long vegetation. She was prolonging the inevitable, she knew, but she could see the field that lay just ahead and she wanted to delay as much as possible, if she could.

William wouldn’t be afraid Carmilla’s heart whispered to her as she looked out at the vast expanse of menacing grass and watched it wave in the wind as if it were taunting her. She lingered for a few moments more than she probably should have as she tried one last time to devise a way around the large expanse of greenery but eventually had to merely gather her courage and step out into the grass with Buttercup at her heels.

Carmilla _seriously_ loathed long grass.

From the moment her lower body was engulfed in the ridiculously long foliage, Carmilla was in a constant state of tense panic and her eyes were glued to the ground in the hope that she might be able to discover and dodge a Pokemon before she disturbed it and was forced to fight. She had, amazingly, managed to make a significant amount of headway without running into a single creature when suddenly she heard an excited yipping from her right. Quickly turning on the spot she found Buttercup playfully batting at an aggravated Zigzagoon. She groaned. This was what she’d been dreading.

“Buttercup.” She tried to call to him, desperately hoping to distract him from the fight she knew was about to commence. She would have had more success trying to rearrange the heavens. The Zigzagoon’s tail bristled and then whipped around in a movement Carmilla recognised as tail whip and begrudgingly told the eager young Vulpix at her side to counter with Ember. She winced at the heat that radiated from the tiny Pokemon’s body as it obeyed her request but was happy enough to endure it when she saw that the Zigzagoon had backed off a little. Her happiness was short lived, however, when the wild Pokemon regained its composure and tackled Buttercup, who yelped in pain.

“Hey!” Carmilla grit her teeth together and managed to swallow the anger that had risen in her throat. She bent down to stroke Buttercup and make sure he was okay before ordering him to try ember again. He happily obliged. The two Pokemon carried on for a little while longer, trading blow for blow and causing Carmilla strife as she began to worry that her low level Pokemon couldn’t handle the fight until finally Buttercup got the upper hand and sent the Zigzagoon scarpering off into the grass to lick its wounds. Carmilla smiled fondly at her Pokemon and let out a breath she didn’t know she was holding as Buttercup frolicked around in a circle, trying to catch his tail. Did he look a little bigger? Maybe his tail looked slightly longer...

“I suppose the experience did you some good, huh?” She asked him with a smile as she leant down to pick him up and cradle him in her arms. She supposed the experience may have done her some good as well. Maybe. The two carried on down the path, stopping only to snack on rations and to finish fights that Buttercup had decided to start with the local Pokemon when a figure appeared, blocking her way.

“Oh, here we go” Carmilla murmured as she rolled her eyes and rested Buttercup on her shoulder, trying to walk past the stranger without taking her eyes off the ground.

“What is this??? A challenger approaches! Hello! Do you wish to battle the Illustrious Elsie!?” The stranger demanded, throwing her hair over her shoulder and sliding easily into a superhero pose. She was posing.

“I’d rather be Fury Swiped by an infernape, so no thanks.” Carmilla told her, eyes still trained on the floor.

“Well, you’ve obviously realised that you’re no match for the greatest trainer on Route Eight! Good choice.” The illustrious Elsie boasted with a smirk as she stepped aside to let Carmilla pass. Carmilla’s head snapped up and she fixed Elsie with a judgemental stare, her eyebrow raised.

“You’re the ONLY trainer on Route Eight” She corrected the girl who paused for a second, outrage evident on her face.

“Well… Well uh…” Elsie sputtered and Carmilla had to hold back a biting comment as she tried to latch onto an excuse.

“Well, OBVIOUSLY, that’s because I have beaten them all and word of my greatness has spread to all corners of the land” Elsie offered as she smoothed back her hair and pulled a Pokeball from her belt, tossing it up in the air and then catching it again.

“Come now, we shall battle and perhaps you’ll can learn something from a great Pokemon Master such as myself” She preened and under any normal circumstances Carmilla would have just barged past the arrogant girl and gotten on with her life but Buttercup was yipping in excitement and she desperately wanted to knock the Illustrious Elsie down a few pegs.

“Buttercup.” She stated as she placed him on the ground. He looked up at her and waited for her nod before turning to face their enemy and bristling his coat up in order to look more menacing. Carmilla took this approach too and squared her shoulders, hoping to make her battle opponent think that she wasn’t absolutely terrified and desperately questioning her sanity because why had she agreed to a Pokemon battle?

“Aha you’ve chosen to use the Ketchum technique, I see. It may have worked for him but friendship will not save you.” Elsie laughed as she threw her Pokeball into the air and Carmilla swore that her heart probably stopped for the few seconds that it took for Elsie’s Pokemon to reveal itself.

“Go, Magikarp, use splash!!! Destroy!”

Carmilla stood in silence, not even able to laugh at the sight of Elsie staring at her Magikarp which flailed uselessly. She allowed herself to relax for the moment and gently told Buttercup to tackle, drawing out the fight in order to give her new friend some more experience; if this was going to happen regularly then he had to be able to fight, she supposed. Elsie, for her part, never gave up on her Pokemon. She continually called out encouraging statements and thanked it for it’s hard work before sending it back to it’s Pokeball when it was too worn out to fight anymore. Then she addressed Carmilla.

“Your Vulpix managed to best my Magikarp, even with a type disadvantage. Pah, beginners luck. Let’s see how you handle...THIS!” She cried out dramatically as she flung a second Pokeball haphazardly into the air. Time seemed to slow as the Pokeball opened and a red beam of light struck the ground, dislodging a cloud of dust. Carmilla stood her ground, hoping that it wasn’t going to be some high level Staryu or something that Buttercup couldn’t handle but she relaxed once again when the dust settled.

“Mmmagikarp karp” Carmilla’s shoulders shook as she held in her silent laughter as Elsie crowed triumphantly, taking Carmilla’s trembling as a sign of terror.

“Yes, quake in fear at the wrath of my Magikarp. Quick, use flail and show her how inferior her Pokemon really is!!” The Pokemon did as she commanded and Carmilla was finding it more and more difficult to not burst out laughing at how serious Elsie was about her Pokemon. However she soon noticed that the shadows of the trees had grown longer and panic settled like a rock in the pit of her stomach.

“Buttercup, let’s get this over with. I need to find my brother.” Carmilla told her faithful companion and the second Magikarp followed its predecessor after a couple of embers had been thrown it’s way.

“Another lucky shot. You will not defeat my final Pokemon, though!” Elsie yelled confidently. As the girl fumbled through her theatrics, an exasperated Carmilla fed some of her healing salve to Buttercup in order to get his strength up. She’d never have admitted it but she was beginning to like having him around. Once she was done she stood calmly and together they faced Elsie’s remaining Pokemon: a Garydos.

“Yes, I can see y-”

“Look can we get on with it? I have some more important things to be doing.” Carmilla interrupted, fearing another monologue. Elsie grumbled a little but agreed to cut short her speech.

“Buttercup, go all out on this one okay? Whatever your strongest move is: use it” Carmilla coached and to her surprise it seemed that Buttercup had the speed advantage because he immediately started to attack. Carmilla and Elsie both watched in amazement as her Vulpix shrouded himself in fire and charged at his opponent, an intense ferocity in his eyes. Elsie’s Garydos didn’t stand a chance.

“What was THAT??” Carmilla asked incredulously as Vulpix limped back into her arms, triumphant. He yawned and ate some more of the Oran Berry healing salve before curling up in the crook of her elbow. Carmilla smiled fondly and pulled a scarf from her backpack, fashioning it into a sleeping sling that she could transport Buttercup in before standing to go and shake Elsie’s hand.

“Well, it seems you have bested The Illustrious Elsie. Obviously I underestimated you and your Vulpix and mistook you for completely new trainers when, in fact, you’re quite experienced” Elsie commented as she handed a small pouch of coin to Carmilla who took it with a sarcastically sweet smile.

“Actually this was our first day together as trainer and Pokemon” She corrected the girl before leaving her dumbstruck and carrying on her way towards the next town. She had almost made it out of Elsie’s line of sight when she heard the girl’s annoyingly high pitched voice call out once more.

“Wait, stop!” Elsie practically shrieked as she came to a halt next to Carmilla and heaved in lungfuls of air. “I’m headed to Saffron too, we should go together. I can teach you some moves on the way” she grinned.

“I suppose you can come with me. If you can keep up.” Carmilla stated plainly before setting a fast pace towards the next town. She had lost a lot of time because of this nitwit, she wasn’t about to be slowed down by her anymore; she had to find her brother.

The two travelled together until Elsie declared that she was hungry and Carmilla, with an eyeroll and a sigh, was forced to stop and make camp with the girl. The two talked into the night, sharing stories and boasting about their many achievements. Well, Elsie talked. Carmilla just listened and made nodding gestures and affirming noises when her travelling companion stopped for breath. Buttercup awoke at one point and happily wolfed down some of the “Brock’s PokeKibble” that Elsie offered him before he bathed himself and curled back up into Carmilla’s lap.

“That’s quite a bond the two of you have” Elsie remarked as she held her Pokeballs close and watched Carmilla interact with the Vulpix. “How long have you had him? He seems low level” She asked.

“A couple of days. Found him stuck in a Teddiursa trap on route 16 so I rescued him. I was just going to release him again but he’s grown quite attached” Carmilla admitted as she stroked Buttercup’s fur absentmindedly. Elsie smiled as if she knew something Carmilla didn’t and then the conversation stopped before it came to the ‘so why are you on the road’ part, which Carmilla was thankful for. She stayed up for a long time afterwards, cradling Buttercup to her and sticking close to the fire which she continually fed in order to make she it didn’t go out and leave her in the dark. She hated the dark more than she hated long grass. When she finally slept, it was fitfully. Her dreams had never really made sense; they were always murky and fuzzy, as if viewed through a soot covered window pane. At times she was unsure if they were dreams or memories but she always forgot the specifics by the time she woke up. There was always the same voice, though. That deep voice. And the shooting star.

  
_“You were taken and moulded against your will, just as I was in that lab. We are not so different you and I.”_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Big apologies for the gap in between uploads, I have no excuses. Also, I'm sorry if the writing quality has dropped as I no longer have a beta. Enjoy!


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